AnonyMouse_12805

Well Mousie- that isj ust what my darling husband does- wont let me explain (even to tell him that a terms funding wasn't to be divided over 4) as he just keeps interrupting and then sits there shaking his head saying 'gosh- didn't realise you had such an issue understanding!' really!! When I asked him where he had got a figure from he said 'you told me you were paid this 4 times a year' I didnt I said that a term was 3 months not 4- so as we have 12 months in a year (and he wouldn't let me speak) he assumed we got three months of money 4 times a year! I wish. Anyway Anju- why are you not claiming 13% of your wages bill- why are you only claiming 80% of your 13% Sorry this is what I dont understand- I think I must be really stupid. I understand where your 13% has come from but cant seem to understand why we cant claim all of that. I am going to look at your calculator tomorrow- so thank you

Oh dear, I have spent over two hours today with my husband going over figures and he ended up making it worse!! I ha to go into the garden in the end to get away from him as he was driving me nuts! He says I'm totally over thinking it and all I need to do to get my % is add up the years funding/fees and divide by 12. However whenever I said 'but the guidance says' he kept saying 'ignore that' or 'dont worry about that' So I gave up. I really, really wish I hadn't bothered to furlough any staff now. I dnt have a problem with using the funding income- as quite honestly if we didnt take that into account then we would have been hugely in the black by Sept and if I'd thought about it properly then I would have realised that of course they weren't going to do that. However my issue is the amount of times and amount of organisations that were asked if this was ok and said yes- then of course we all lnow what happened on Friday- my main issue is if 20% of my private income is private why cant I just claim 20% of each of my furloughed staff wages.- So 20% of £1000 is £200, 20% of £500 is £100. That was my plan. But now I'm seeing that some are saying they are asking for 20% of 80% of their figures OR even 20% of payroll. My husband wont speak to me about it now- I think I've got him going round the bend a little over it- and quite honestly- I'm thinking I'm going to just wait until the three weeks of furlough are up and 'unfurlough' them all! I missed the EYA zoom thing- so hoping that as I had signed up to it it may still be accessible. Honestly- this is the most ridiculous situation isnt it, I think whichever way I do it- if done properly I'm only going to be able to claim back around £200/300 - if that. Thank you for reading this- even for me reading back through it- it doesnt make sense

We are in a very similar position!! Our wages are around 9k per month- I think our private income (haven't worked it out properly yet) is around 20% but what I cannot understand is this. Do I input all staff salaries (that are furloughed- or thought they were) deducting 20% Or just staff members whose salaries equate to that 20% and once I've got to £1800 worth of salaries then that's it? I got all of them to agree to it and stated quite clearly that we would top it up to 100%. I've already paid April's salary as we get paid at start of month. Oh just realised as well that it's 11 days worth of salaries anyway. To be honest I'm at the point where I just want to say b***** it - and wash my hands of it. My committee should be doing all this but they're not. My Chair (who in fairness hasnt had a child with us for 3 years) sent me an email last week saying - you're very good to be doing all this!! I had a mess around on HMRC's calculator this morning input some dates and a fictitious salary of £1000 and it gave me a figure of £167 for March's salary & £2?? for April- given that it didnt know I couldnt claim the full 80% I thought that was a bit odd. £300 & something (cant remember exact figure) certainly isnt 80% of £1000. So I couldn't even get that right- Not looking forward to doing the proper one. We charge a consumables fee to our funded children, do a fair amount of fundraising this term as well. Mufti days, selling group photos, sponsored bounce etc, etc. So all in all will be loosing money- not as much as some- at least I hope we wont as assuming the church wont want rent this term. If they dont ask for it then we should just about break even for September- if they want it then - well not sure. Stay safe all of you- look after yourselves & your loved ones

I'm finding making any sort of plans impossible at the moment. I had furloughed all my staff (except me & Dep) nearly had a fit when I saw the guidance on Friday- but have calmed down now and yes, it makes sense but boy- are we going to start September short of money. I'm guessing if we go back before the end of term (my goodness was so mad when I saw all that stuff from the press- they really DO like to invent things) it will be similar to how we were when we closed. Much less toys out- mainly plastic stuff so it can be washed regularly. No parents or visitors- just children & staff in. However how this would work in September for new children I cant imagine- that's if we still have to do that- that's if we have any new children. Obviously cant be doing visits over the next few months. One thing I do know- I'm not going back unless it's safe to do so and safe for the children. I'm also not having a preschool full of adults wearing masks or being expected to keep the children apart. I suppose we could have smaller groups in for shorter sessions but that's not going to help kick start the economy by getting people back to work.

Yes, I keep hoping we can 'go back' even if just for two weeks- just to help the leavers. e too would have had offers sent, dates set for visits for the September intake- I am supposed to be emailing an offer to some- but as yet cannot seem to summon the 'enthusiasm' (thats the wrong word but I cant think of a better one) to do so. I think the primary school places come out tomorrow- my g/son is in Reception and is an August baby- my daughter was saying that a couple of his friends parents have been saying they may consider holding back to re do Reception if they dont go back until Reception- although not sure if legally you could do this. We have (or did have) 2 who are deferring in September- also had another who was considering it then decided against. However I wonder if people may change their minds either way now. I suppose it depends how long we're off for.

That is so generous of you. We use Tapestry anyway but- still so grateful for all this stuff

I cant help regarding a policy but I wouldnt be allowing staff to be doing anything from their personal phones/cameras OR emails, that goes against all our SG policies. Also if your staff have been furloughed be careful what they're doing work wise. If furloughed employees may not do anything that generates a service or revenue for the business.

Well we were down to our last 1.5 boxes of gloves anyway (due to so many nappy changes per day!) I was starting to get a bit concerned for us- when we closed anyway. So we wouldn't be of much use. Good idea though

and I'm sure we all remember what happened when parents first started claiming their 30 hours!! To be honest I think its going to be a nightmare- trying to claim it- the world. and his wife (or in this country anyway) are going to be trying to claim back wages, all at the same time!

Week Three is as well - although should you be sharing this link to people who possibly dont subscribe to Tapestry?

I cannot thank the Tapestry team enough for the info they have shared and delivered for us. The weekly sheets have generated so many comments/feedback and obs from our parents ( as Mousie says- Ofsted will be delighted- or should be!) I love the How & Whys of Observations for relatives. I've emailed to all our parents this morning and think we will probably steal it for new parents (if we have any!) in September. This is all in addition to the new features they've added.

Yes, same situation as you Anju- I sent my outstanding invoices out last week. Have only heard back so far from 1 parent (just to query the ref number on it) so hopefully they will all pay!. However we state on our Financial Contracts that we require 6 weeks notice ( or 4 weeks if they intend to reduce sessions ) and that holidays DO NOT count towards a notice period. As we are open term time only and Easter holidays start next week they would not be able to do this to us. I made it quite clear that any monies we were asking for were for sessions they had already had. I hope yours retract their notice- that is so mean- especially as you say you WERE being nice not charging whilst closed.

I dont think you can refund, can you? With childcare vouchers you are not allowed to.Direct to parent I mean. We had to once- it had to be 'applied' for and then refunded to the voucher company- who in turn refunded back to parent but- bit more complicated than that as you then get taxed on it (the parent I mean)

Well louby- I'm not sure if I would mind that too much- Not if it meant we could all go back to normal! Just finished making a little photo album for my grandaughter- will have to post it to her though. She's taking a photo a day of something she sees when out on her daily walk.

Brilliant idea about the toilet training! We still have 2 or 3 -4 year olds in nappies

Rafa- if you are using Moneysoft Payroll Manager - I can help a bit with any queries, that's what I've been using for last 4/5 years

This LA is clearly thought it was

We weren't told this- also weren't told it included children on 2 year funding OR SEND funding. Goodness we have 13 children on our SEND funding- we may as well have stayed open to all! However by the time our LA had got them selves organised and sent a list of what all groups were doing- it was 17.10 and most places were closed.

Our local hospital has just declared a 'critical incident' as they have hit capacity due to a surge of cases. Doesn't bode well for us residents.

Really? Who is saying that- nothing in guidelines. Makes sense to be honest for childs sake but may not be possible.

We closed. We only had a handful of keyworker children I asked all our parents this morning to get back to me if they fitted the criteria and none did- so assume they have all made alternative arrangements. So, why do I feel so guilty at closing! and sad, so, so sad. Honestly when they announced this on Weds night it was Bedlam- I had both my daughters contacting me, staff - parents emailing in droves and I just wanted to sit down and cry!! I just keep thinking of all those poor children that should be going to school in September, our children that really are better off being with us but aren't classed as vulnerable, the two children whose EHC plans have been delayed cos of red tape and the other 12 children we have on our SEN register who now wont get any help or support to prepare them for school or when they go to school. My little August birthday grandson who despite his birth date is loving school and doing brilliantly in Reception- will now almost certainly be going into Yr 1 totally unprepared. All those poor children doing A levels and GCSE's - I just cant bear thinking about it. I think after this weekend I'm going to come out of work mode and go into home mode and stop constantly watching the news for info. Like you all I have found the last few days so stressful. It's such a responsibility isnt it- we've had so many children off this week as well - just not worth opening. But I now need to pull myself together and be grateful that all of my family are still in paid work, all are in good (ish) health I love the infograph that is up on Tapestry- I'm def going to be sending that to parents regularly- I will also us eit with my 4 year old grandson. He is classed as a keychild because of his dads job but my daughter only works 3 days, his dad is shifts so with me having him as well odd days we can manage. She's worried about sending him to school. Stay safe everyone & keep washing your hands!

No we are not charging - but also will not be refunding for this term at all. It's going to cost us around £5/700 per week. But hopefully the church wont charge us any rent and it is what it is. I dont feel I can pay staff for not working, with the funding we will be covered for at least 4 months, and then charge parents who are maybe not being paid. Also- we have around 13/14 returning in September- I dont want to loose their goodwill. However come Sept - if we cannot get anymore monies in we are going to be in dire straights, no spare money at all. I've told staff that we are using all spare cash flow and reserves to do this- so any redundancies will get nothing. Having said all that 2/3 of our income is from funding- possibly more next term as more children move onto funding, so we are not heavily reliant on fees- goodness knows what groups who do rely on this fees will do. Chancellor is announcing more financial measures re SSP tonight- really hope it is raised now. £92 per week is laughable really.

We have to keep our registers for 6/7 years for audit purposes- but that's our LA. I dont have parents sign in/out and our visitors are on our register.

Great- thanks

Thanks you two. That's really given e some food for thought- didnt realise that about one from each key group Mousie- Ben, I'm very interested in ITMP and have currently been doing 'research' on it. So good to hear Reflections could play a part in this